object-spaces
2018-2024
Hand-built ceramic sculptures with variable dimensions.
This ongoing series is rooted in my fascination with ant architecture and the idea of anthill. There are 46 ceramic “object-spaces” so far, meant to protect and signalise the colonies. Each one is installed directly over an anthill near my grandparents’ house (Alcochete, Portugal), a slow process that started in 2018. I don’t build them anymore, but I still search for the perfect place for them.
These pieces hold a lot of expectations. I create scenarios full of possibilities, but things almost never go as planned: the ants rarely interact with the structures as I imagine. They tend to dig new exits, bypassing my intervention entirely. My favourite methodology is trial and error, and this process made me embrace frustration with a strong sense of humor, a feeling that quietly shapes much of my practice.